July brings top tellers to International Storytelling Center

Ed Stivender

June 27, 2017

Storytelling Live!, the International Storytelling Center's celebrated teller-in-residence series, continues its season in July. The program features 26 of America's best-loved storytellers, one each week May through October. Each teller appears in matinee performances Tuesday through Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall.

Ed Stivender, of Pennsylvania, starts off the month with performances from June 27-July 1. Called "the Robin Williams of storytelling" by Miami Herald, Stivender has toured the world since 1981 presenting his one-man shows in Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Indonesia and in festivals across the U.S. Known for his delightful mixture of whimsy, wit and wisdom, he invites his audience into an interactive dance of the imagination. Stivender, an NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award recipient, is also an award-winning Philadelphia Mummer.

Award-winning storyteller Joe Herrington, of California, appears July 4-8. A novelist, cowboy poet and Western storyteller, Herrington has been billed across the American West as the "Prairie Sage." Herrington's poems and stories are homespun and told in the Western tradition of honor, courage and rugged characters. He has been a finalist for multiple Academy of Western Artists awards and been recognized among the top Western storytellers/poets in the country.

July 11-15 brings Dan Keding from Illinois as Storytelling Live's resident storyteller. An internationally acclaimed storyteller, musician and author, Keding is known for his telling of world folktales, personal narratives of his Chicago boyhood, ghost stories and superbly crafted original pieces. He has performed across the world, including festivals in England, Ireland and Canada. A recording artist and author, Keding's numerous awards include two Anne Izard Storytelling Choice awards and the NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award.

Storytelling Live! welcomes Ingrid Nixon, of Washington, July 18-22. Nixon is a world-traveled storyteller whose exploration nail-biters, tall tales, traditional and personal stories whisk listeners of all ages away on journeys of the imagination. Known for her voices, gestures and animated facial expressions that bring characters to life, her creative approaches to traditional tales make her ancient stories relevant to modern audiences. Nixon is a champion liar many times over, a claim that makes her mother both proud and worried.

Rounding out the month, July 25-29, is Judith Black of Massachusetts. Black has been a creator and teller of tales for over 30 years. Retellings of history from new perspectives, tickling familial dysfunction, ironic explorations of aging and stories that address our warming world are all fodder for her tales. Black has been featured on stages around the world, including the Montreal Comedy Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, the Art Museum of Cape Town and NPR. She is a recipient of the NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award.

For more information about Storytelling Live! or to purchase tickets call 800-952-8392, ext. 222 or 423-913-1276.